PARIS — The cartoonist who drew an image of the prophet Mohammed for the cover of this week's defiant edition of Charlie Hebdo told reporters in an emotional news conference Tuesday that the front page is not the one a terrorist would want "but it's the front page we want."

The cover by Renald "Luz" Luzier shows a weeping Mohammed holding a sign that says "Je suis Charlie'' (I am Charlie) with the words "All is forgiven" above him. Zineb El Rhazoui, a journalist with the newspaper, described the cover as meaning that the journalists were forgiving the extremists who killed 12 people last Wednesday, including a number of staffers.

USA TODAY traditionally does not show images of Mohammed to avoid offending Muslim readers. But the magazine cover has enough news value to warrant its publication in this case.

"It's not the front page the world wanted us to do," said Luzier. "But it's the front page we wanted. It's not the front page a terrorist would have wanted us to do — there are no terrorists on there."

Luzier, who broke down in tears several times during the news conference, said, "There's just a guy who's crying. It's Mohammed. I am sorry, we drew him again. But this Mohammed is, above everything else, a man in tears."

He said he conferred with other Charlie cartoonists, past and present, about what to draw and decided it should not be heavy and weighty, but should be something "that makes us laugh."

"Then the idea came to draw Mohammed and I looked at the drawing I did of him and he was crying," he added, visibly shaken. "And then above it I wrote, "All is forgiven," then I cried, and that was our cover."

New Charlie Hebdo editor in chief Gerard Biard, recalled the reaction by staff when they saw the cover.

"When Luz showed us the drawing we all burst into laughter and jumped in each other's arms," he said. "We knew we needed to figure out how to continue to laugh and make others laugh."

This week's edition is the first since two gunmen opened fire on an editorial meeting of the newspaper last week, killing much of the editorial staff, including well-known French cartoonists. Two police officers were also killed in the attack that left 12 people dead and shocked the country.

More 1.5 million people — including many world leaders — turned out in a show of solidarity Sunday, many carrying a sign containing the "I am Charlie" phrase.

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People visit a makeshift memorial near the headquarters of the French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdoin Paris to pay tribute to the 17 victims of a three-day killing spree.
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People hold signs that read, "I am Charlie" as they pay tribute to the victims of a terror attack at the French newspaper Charlie Hebdonewspaper at the Institut Francais in Tokyo.
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People gather in Trafalgar Square in central London to commemorate the victims of the attacks in France that killed 17 people and injured scores more. Around 2,000 people gathered in London to honor the victims of Islamist attacks in Paris.
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Members of Chicago's French community attend a rally to honor the victims of the attacks on French magazine Charlie Hebdo and to show unity at Daley Plaza in Chicago.
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Demonstrators make their way along Boulevard Voltaire in a unity rally in Paris. An estimated 1 million people are expected to converge in central Paris for the Unity March joining in solidarity with the 17 victims of this week's terrorist attacks in the country.
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People attend before a rally in Rennes, western France, as hundreds of thousands of people stage rallies across the country following four days of terror and twin siege dramas that claimed 17 victims, including the victims of the first attack by armed gunmen on the offices of French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo in Paris on Jan. 7.
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Left to right, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Malian President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, bodyguard, French President Francois Hollande, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas take part in a rally in Paris.
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A police officer uses his binoculars near Republique Square in Paris before the start of the rally. The gathering of defiance and sorrow is protected by an unparalleled level of security.
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Former French President wife Carla Bruni (left), Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel (center) leave the Elysee Palace to participate in a march to honor the victims of the terrorist attacks and to show unity, in Paris.
Yoan Valat, European Pressphoto Agency

A woman holds a placard reading in French "I am Charlie" during a public show of solidarity on Plaza del Sol in Madrid on Jan. 11, and to protest three days of bloodshed triggered by an attack on French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo that left 12 dead. From London to Berlin, rallies are organized throughout the weekend. In Paris today, hundreds of thousands of people and dozens of world leaders are expected to participate in a massive and historic march in solidarity with the victims of the Islamist attacks that killed 17 and deeply shook the country.
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Members of Sydney's French community gather in the heart of the city to pay tribute to the Paris jihadist attack victims, just meters from the scene of a deadly cafe siege last month in Sydney.
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Demonstrators gather in Boulevard Voltaire prior to a mass unity rally to be held in Paris following the recent terrorist attacks. An estimated 1 million people are expected to converge in central Paris for the march.
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A woman wears a yellow Star of David, like the ones Jews were obligated to wear during World War II, and holds a sign of "Israel is Charlie" during a gathering in Jerusalem. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the bodies of the French Jews killed in a Paris grocery store will be buried in Israel.
Sebastian Scheiner, AP

Egyptian journalists hold sign that read, "I am Charlie" and raise their pens in a show of solidarity with the victims of Wednesday's attack in Paris on the Charlie Hebdo newspaper, in front of the Press Syndicate in Cairo.
Amr Nabil, AP

People gather at Republique Square in Paris. Thousands of people began filling France's iconic Republique Square, and world leaders converged on Paris in a rally of defiance and sorrow Sunday to honor the victims of the recent violence.
Peter Dejong, AP

A Muslim woman holds a poster in Madrid during a show of solidarity following three days of bloodshed triggered by an attack on French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo in Paris.
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A woman has taped her mouth with the word "Liberti" on the tape as she gathers with several thousand people in solidarity with victims of two terrorist attacks in Paris, one at the office of weekly newspaper Charlie Hebdo and another at a kosher market, front of the Brandenburg Gate near the French Embassy in Berlin.
Markus Schreiber, AP

A Lebanese woman holds up a placard as she joins with others during a sit-in to show solidarity with the victims of Wednesday's attack in Paris on the Charlie Hebdo newspaper, in downtown Beirut.
Hussein Malla, AP

French ambassador for Nepal Martine Bassereau writes a message in a condolence book to pay homage to victims of a deadly attack on French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo and those killed in the ensuing days, in Kathmandu.
Prakash Mathema, AFP/Getty Images

The new issue includes drawings by the slain cartoonists. One shows a much-loved late French nun talking about oral sex. Another shows a Muslim, Christian and Jewish leader dividing up the world.

One by Bernard "Tignous" Verlhac depicts two Muslim jihadists, with one saying: "We shouldn't attack Charlie Hebdo people." The other replies: "(yeah), they will become martyrs and once in paradise, will steal all our virgins."

The newspaper is printing 3,000,000 copies of the issue, a huge increase over the normal circulation of 60,000. The publishers will also put out editions in English, Arabic and Turkish.

The lead editorial argues passionately for the right to lampoon religions and religious leaders and hold them accountable — and ends with a critique of the pope.

"For the past week, Charlie, an atheist newspaper, has achieved more miracles than all the saints and prophets combined. The one we are most proud of is that you have in your hands the newspaper that we always made," it reads.

The issue even included a mock front page featuring Said and Chérif Kouachi, the two gunmen believed responsible for the carnage at the newspaper offices. The two brothers were later killed by security forces while hiding in a publishing warehouse.

After the attack at the newspaper and death at the printing shop, the Kouachi brothers are depicted saying, "I am afraid it will look intellectual."

The French Muslim community warned against overreaction toward the barbs in the issue.

"In regards to the new issue of Charlie Hebdo, (we) call on the Muslim community of France to keep their calm and avoid emotional reactions or actions that are incongruous with (the prophet Mohammed's) dignity and to respect the freedom of opinion," said Dalil Boubakeur, president of the Muslim Institute of the Mosque of Paris.

The surviving staff is working out of heavily guarded temporary offices at the newspaper Libération.

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USA TODAY'S Editor at Large/Media Columnist Rem Rieder discusses Charie Hebdo's new magazine cover that came out today and the mag to come out on Wednesday.
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